Mail-bag



UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

THOMAS J. LAMDIN, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.r

MAIL-BAG.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 23,924, dated May 10,' 1859.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. LAMDIN, of the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented' certain new and useful Improvements in Mail Bags or Pouches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l, represents in perspective the upper portion of the bag or pouch, and as open. Fig. 2, represents in perspective, one side of the bag or pouch, as it appears when closed. Fig. 3, represents inperspective the opposite side of the bag or pouch, as it appears when closed. Figs. 4L, 5, 6, and 7, represent sections through portions of the bag or pouch, which will be hereafter more especially referred to.

Similar letters of reference where they occur in the several figures denote like parts of the bag or pouch in all of them.

In the hitherto used mail bags or pouches the staples or buckles have been placed on the inner part of the back of the mouth, and when fastened were run through gromets or holes in the front of the mouth of the bag, and also through the flap. This placed the staples or buckles in direct contact with the mail matter when the bags were emptied. In another class of bags or pouches, the staples were placed upon the outside of the front of the mouth, which when closed were passed through gromet holes in the flap; this did away with the objection to the first named kinds viz: those with the staples or buckles on the inside, but it left the mouth of the bag imperfectly secured, which was a greater evil than the first named plan.

The first part of my invention aims at obviating the above named objections, and it4 consists in what I term the reverse action of the staples or buckles-that is, the placing of the staples or buckles on the flap of the bag or pouch, and on that side of it next to the mouth of the bag, so that in turning down the flap, the staples will pass through the eyelets in the front and back of the mouth of the bag.

Another objection to canvas, and indeed any other sewed bag or pouch is that, the seam can be cut from the outside, the contents of the bag taken out, and the seam so ingeniously closed up again as to defy detection. So great is this defect that endeavors have been made to get bags and pouches woven without a seam. This could be done, were it not that mail bags or pouches must have round bottoms, and these round b0ttoms cannot be woven in-and thus seams are actually necessary. Now I do not profess to prevent the cutting of seams but I so sew up the seams of the bag, that if they be cut from the outside of the bag, theyV cannot be resewn from the outside without at once detecting it, as to attempt to resew the cut place, changes the whole appearance of the seam, and is at once observed and detected, and hence my bags or pouches have all the advantages of the seamless round bottom woven bag, if it were practica-1 to make such a bag, which it is not.

The second part of my invention consists in so sewing the seams of the bag or pouch, as that said seams cannot be cut and resewn from the outside of the bag without being immediately detected, as the whole form of the stitch or seam must be changed by any such attempt.

To enable othersskilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings. And though I describe and represent a bag or pouch made of cotton duck, yet it may be made of any of the known material used for this purpose.

The flap A, of the bag, may be of three .thicknesses of the duck, a piece being laid in between the folds to stiffenand strengthen it. The staplesor buckles a, a, a, a, are riveted to the flap, and are on the inner part thereof as shown in Fig. l, and to prevent the metal washers from cutting or injuring the duck, leather or india rubber, or other soft durable material may be placed between the metal washers and bag. On each side of the mouth of the bag I insert the gromets b, &c.-the bag being ofy double thicknesses of canvas at these points.

These gromets are so arranged that as the flap A is folded down over the mouth of the bag its staples or buckles will pass through .the gromets and protrude on the rear' side of the bag as shown in Fig. 3, and then the strap or chain B, may be passed through them as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and locked at c, in any of the usual ways.

D, is the handle of the bag. It is fastened onto the flap in such a way, as that when the flap is folded down, or the bag fastened, the

said handle will be in the position shown in Figs. 2, 3', and. inverted when the iiap is raised as shown in Fig. 1.

The sea-ms of the bag, may be called the reverse hose seam, or probably as the whipped or felled down seam -but is sewn from the inside of the bag-s that (as shown in Figs. ll, 5, 7 if the seam 1 be cut from the outside, it is impossible to sew it up again from the outside without instant detection, as the whole character of the seam and stitch mustbe changed in the attempt. S0 too, of the seam 2 if cut from the outside it is impossible t0 catch up the edge 3 which is on the inside and this attempt. would be detected. In connection with this matter I would simply state that, mail bags as heretofore sewn have been Open from the 0utside, robbed, and again closed up from the Outside, so as not to be detected. .By my plan such a thing is impossible. The bottom of the bag is put in with the same kind of seam as closesV the sides and neither of them can by any possibility be made from the Outside of the bag.

Having thus fully described the nature and Objects of my invention what I claim therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. The placing of the staples or buckles on the flap of the bag or pouch so that when the flap is turned down, said staples or buckles will pass through the gromets, as herein stated.

2. I also claim the manner of forming the seams of the bag or pouch so that they cannot be cut open and resewn from the outside of the bag without instant detection 0n looking at the seam, as its whole character, must be changed in any such attempt or effort, as described.

THOS. J. LAMDIN.

Witnesses V A. B. STOUGHTON, Trios. H. UPPERMAN. 

